I have just completed a wonderful visit with Tom and his family in Westhope, North Dakota,
Yes, they really live 5 miles from the border crossing into Canada.
It was great to be with Tom and Jann in their home rather than our usual visits in Louisiana and Galveston.They share their home with his son Jim and his wife Linda. Jim spoiled me rotten with his wonderful cooking skills.
This visit with my dear brother has delighted me down to my toes. He ‘gets’ me. We have so many shared memories. Boy, did we laugh!!! Our biggest laugh was about the traffic jam I caused taking one more photo. More about that later…
International Peace Garden
Our first stop to a visit to the International Peace Garden (IPG), located on the US-Canada border. It felt strange to wander around parts of two countries as we roamed the Garden.
A bit of history from their website: Manitoba donated 1451 acres and North Dakota purchased and donated 888 acres along th International boundary line
By 1934 operations were well underway, so the IPG was born in the midst of the great world depression and followed by World War II. Despite long bouts of economic depression and world wars, the garden continued to flourish and shine as a beacon reminding citizens that friendship between countries was not only possible – but could continue to grow.
Floral Clock
One of the most iconic features at the IPG is the floral clock. Donated by Bulova in 1964, the clock is a duplicate of the original Bulova Floral Clock in Berne, Switzerland. The 18′ diameter clock face includes more than 2000 annual flowers.
Turtle Mountain
The Peace Garden is located on Turtle Mountain (which I had not heard of before this visit. It is clearly with a sense of pride that the turtle appears all around that area.
When I looked up some of the history, I found the “Turtle Mountain Chippewa Indian Heritage Center” and noticed that “mountain” is singular, not plural. Turtle Mountain is within the traditional territory of the Plains Ojibwe, as well as part of the Métis homeland.
Mystical Horizons
Farm Land
This area is SOOOO peaceful with the wide expanse of farmland. Tom and I spent a great deal of time riding around taking photos.
As we drove, we both went down “memory lane” and relived our days on the farm – – the joy when Uncle Roy said it was time to pump. That meant that he would soon say the swimming hole was open for us. And we laughed as we remembered the fun we had exploring Gum Gulley, and the Kratzer house we lived in with the train track behind the back fence.
Traffic Jam
On most of the road we traveled, there was very little to no traffic. So Tom said he would just pull to the side and let me hop out to take another photo.
At this one stop a car came toward us in both directions. The one in front would clearly reach us before the other car and could have easily pass on the left.
Nope.
He slowed down (probably wondering what we were doing) and the other car came up from behind. Neither car could decide who would pass us first. Of course we could not move without causing further confusion. Finally one car inched on by the other and the “traffic jam” was cleared.
As I write this, the story does not sound all that amusing, But you can rest assured, Tom and I are still laughing about causing a traffic jam on an empty road.
Heading off to my next Round Robin stop . . .
Glacier National Park
